ALLIANCE — When the Wartburg College Knights from Iowa found out they were playing Mount Union in the NCAA Division III semifinals, offensive line coach Luke Summers suddenly became the big man on campus.

Summers, a 2005 graduate of Springfield Local High School, knows all about Mount Union after playing and coaching for the national power.

“People who play Division III and coach Division III, you know Mount Union,” Summers said. “Now it’s like, ‘You played with Pierre Garcon?’ It’s more detail now. They’ve dug deep into it.”

Summers, a member of three Mount Union national championship teams, is coming home this weekend as second-ranked Mount Union (13-0) hosts 12th-ranked Wartburg (13-0) at noon Saturday at Kehres Stadium.

“Being around high quality people and having a great playing experience, you want to share those lessons,” he said. “Playing Division III football and playing at Mount Union, you love the game and want to be around it as long as you can.”

Summers hasn’t been to a Mount Union football game since coaching for Muskingum against a Purple Raider team coached by Larry Kehres, now retired.

“They’ve had a level of consistency for a long time,” Summers said. “You look at the film and they’re very similar to what they’ve been. The defense is fast and covers the entire field.”

Mount Union is in the semifinals for the 26th time in the last 27 playoffs, including all of Summers’ years.

“Having some experience at Mount, it’s not a new thing,” he said. “It’s a new thing for us. The first time going there and playing them, it will be an experience. It’s how we handle the environment and how we handle them.”

Summers is in his first season at Wartburg after serving the previous six seasons at Ferrum College (Va.) as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.

“We thought we could be a pretty good team if we stayed healthy and had some guys step up,” he said. “Things have worked out for us to this point. We’ve had some guys step up and guys switch positions. We have a first-year starting quarterback as a senior. The team is a really close group and works hard. We’ve maximized the group that we have.”

When the brackets came out, Summers saw what could be down the road, but didn’t say a word about a possible matchup against Mount Union.

“I didn’t want to jinx it,” he said. “Before the last game, I didn’t want to say see you next week.”

Summers and Mount Union head coach Geoff Dartt were teammates on the offensive line and roomed together in the summer.

They’ll be reunited this weekend. The Knights are scheduled to fly from Waterloo, Iowa, to Canton today and will have a light practice at Mount Union later this afternoon.

“I don’t think we’re a Cinderella coming in,” Summers said. “We’ve been in the quarterfinals five times in the last two decades.

“We feel confident. Our defense has been really good and has been keeping us in games. They (the Purple Raiders) are what they are for a reason. Their success over time speaks for itself. We have to play our best game, take care of the ball and anything can happen.”

Game notes

¯ When Summers came to Mount Union as a freshman in the fall of 2005, the coaching staff included defensive backs coach Nick Sirianni (now the Philadelphia Eagles head coach), offensive coordinator Matt Campell (now the Iowa State head coach), wide receivers coach Jason Candle (now the University of Toledo head coach) and defensive coordinator Vince Kehres (now the Toledo DC).

“You can’t watch too many football games without a Mount Union coach,” Summers said.

¯ Summers and Dartt also played on the Mount Union offensive line with Columbiana’s Tim Reash, Lisbon’s Caleb Crowl and Minerva’s James Bird.

He started his final 17 games at right tackle. Summers made his first start as a junior in the semifinals when Reash’s career ended due to injuries.

¯ They paved the way for Nate Kmic to run for an NCAA all-divisions career record of 8,074 yards rushing. That mark was broke by Youngstown State’s Jaleel McLaughlin this fall.

“He had it for 14 years,” Summers said. “It was a good run.”

¯ Mount Union is in this position thanks to the last play in the regular season.

Wayne Ruby Jr. hauled in a 48-yard touchdown pass from Braxton Plunk with no time remaining, a pass that bounced off the head of a Baldwin Wallace defensive back, for a 23-21 win on Nov. 12. It was one of ESPN’s top plays.

“I think everybody in America saw that one,” Summers said. “It’s never over until the last play.”

¯ Summers said his parents and other relatives will be at Saturday’s game in Alliance.

After playing in 2-degree wind chill last week, “I’m happy it’s going to be in the 40s,” he said.

¯ Summers heard South Range and Canfield captured their first state football titles last Friday.

“That was awesome to see,” he said. “Springfield was scratching on the door the last couple of years. I was always following those guys.”

Springfield was state runner-up in 2019 and 2020 and reached the semifinals in 2021.

“South Range has had consistently good teams,” Summers said. “Coach (Dan) Yeagley has had great teams and has been close. He was a super class guy dealing with him when I was recruiting for Mount Union and Muskingum.”